1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a steam cooking apparatus configured to cook food using steam.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cooking apparatuses used to cook food include a microwave oven using high frequency microwaves, and a gas oven and an electric oven designed to directly apply heat to food using a heater. Of the above-mentioned cooking apparatuses, the microwave oven has great limitation as to the kind of food which can be cooked thereby and suffers from deterioration in the taste of the cooked food because it causes excessive drying of the food. The gas oven and the electric oven have problems of excessively long cooking time and low cooking efficiency because they use air having a relatively low density as a heat transfer medium between the heater and food to be cooked.
Recently, as a solution to overcome the above-described problems of the cooking apparatuses, a novel cooking apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as “steam cooking apparatus”) has been developed. The steam cooking apparatus is designed to heat food using steam. When cooking food using the steam cooking apparatus, it is possible to maintain an appropriate amount of moisture in food and consequently, maintain original taste of food. Also, steam filling a cooking compartment of the steam cooking apparatus acts as an efficient heat transfer medium, resulting in reduction in cooking time.
A steam cooking apparatus includes a steam generating device to generate and supply steam by heating water, a water supply device to supply water into the steam generating device, and a drainage device to drain water from the steam generating device. The steam generating device includes a steam container to generate steam, and a steam heater to heat water supplied into the steam container. The water supply device includes a water vessel and a water supply tube to transfer water stored in the water vessel into the steam container. The drainage device includes a drain tube and a drainage pump which are connected to the steam container and drain water remaining in the steam container to the outside of the steam cooking apparatus.
The water stored in the water vessel is supplied into the steam container through the water supply tube. The steam heater provided in the steam container is supplied with electric power and heats the water supplied into the steam container, thereby generating steam. The generated steam is supplied into a cooking compartment through a steam supply tube connecting the steam container and the cooking compartment to each other. After a cooking process is completed, water remaining in the steam container is discharged to the outside of the steam cooking apparatus via the drainage pump and the drain tube.